Jose Peralta

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State Senator Jose Peralta and affordable housing advocates are calling for the mayor and Willets Point developers to provide “rock-solid assurances” that affordable housing will be built in the quantity and within the time frame specified in the plan approved by the City Council.

The Willets Point development plan agreed to by the Council included the construction of 1,920 units of affordable housing. Construction was to begin at the outset of the development process, or after the initial remediation. Under the revised plan, construction of 875 affordable units will not begin until at least 2025, if at all,

“These bait-and-switch tactics cannot be tolerated,” Sen. Peralta wrote in a letter to Mayor Michael Bloomberg, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and Queens Borough President Helen Marshall. “I will be urging community boards that approved the original plan to reconsider their support in light of the significant changes made to it. I urge the City Council to do the same.

“It is imperative that the Council, community boards and all of the public receive from the city and the developers rock-solid assurances that the number of affordable units originally called for in the plan be built and made available in a timely manner,” Sen. Peralta added.

Ivan Contreras, the coordinator of the Queens Housing Coalition, an alliance of seven community-based organizations whose objective is to preserve and advocate for the development and preservation of affordable housing in Queens, is also troubled by the changes in the plan and shifting accountability.

“Most importantly, the city and developers have attempted to appease community concerns by making mere verbal promises, but have yet to commit to contractual obligations to follow through with their commitments,” Contreras said. “Such a lack of accountability in this long-term project means that the community faces an immense risk of losing out on the potential benefits of the project—namely, affordable housing, which is so desperately needed in the surrounding communities.”

As it stands now, there may be no affordable housing ever constructed as part of the Willets Point development. That's because housing construction may not begin until the city builds additional exit ramps off the Van Wyck Expressway.

The problem is that the city appears to have no intention of completing such construction before 2024, delaying the building of affordable housing until at least 2025. Moreover, if the ramp construction is not completed by December 1, 2025, the developer, the Queens Development Group, is under no obligation to build any affordable housing whatsoever. And, ultimately, it could be the Queens Development Group deciding when the ramps are built, should the developer undertake the job.

But even if the ramps are built in a timely manner, the developer may buy its way out of its affordable housing obligation.

“These conditions put the construction of any affordable housing units in serious doubt,” Sen. Peralta noted. “My community and other communities affected by the Willets Redevelopment simply can’t afford to wait or rely on conditional promises. We need answers and we need results.”

The Queens Housing Coalition is an alliance of seven community organizations—Centro Hispano Cuzcatlan, Queens Community House, Catholic Migration Services, Woodside on the Move, Chhaya CDC, MinKwon Center for Community Action and Asian Americans For Equality.

A local politician and a school principal are calling on the Department of Transportation (DOT) to ensure the safety of pedestrians, especially school children, who cross a “dangerous” intersection.

In March, Senator Jose Peralta urged DOT to take a closer look at the intersection of Junction Boulevard and the Horace Harding Expressway in Elmhurst. The 110th and 112th Precincts had advised him neither would provide a crossing guard. A guard used to monitor the intersection.

Nearly 400 job seekers met with employers Saturday at a job fair sponsored by State Senator Jose Peralta in conjunction with Elmcor Career Pathways and United Healthcare.

Thirty-five of the attendees were offered jobs at the fair, held at St. Paul the Apostle Church in Corona.

“The economy is improving, but many families are still struggling to make ends meet,” Senator Peralta said. “We were able to immediately help at least some of them at the fair. From past experience, I think a number of others will end up landing jobs thanks to the contacts they made at the fair.”

Some of the 24 employers on hand included Time Warner Cable, Resorts World Casino, Council for Airport Opportunity, New York Life, Coca Cola and a variety of government agencies, including the New York police and fire departments.

The city Department of Transportation threw its support behind calls for a speed camera at a dangerous intersection near PS 206 in Rego Park, but said it is waiting for the state to pass a law authorizing the cameras before it can move forward.

“The proposed speed camera program would significantly enhance safety at school locations throughout the city,” said DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan in a letter to state Sen. Jose Peralta (D-East Elmhurst), who is advocating for making the intersection safer and is the first Senate sponsor of legislation that would permit the speed cameras.

New York state Sen. Jose Peralta, D-Jackson Heights, has responded to what editorial writers have called "economic insanity" and introduced legislation to repeal the Minimum Wage Reimbursement Credit approved by the state Legislature during the budget process.

Peralta's legislation (S.4500) — "an act to repeal certain provisions of the tax law relating to the minimum wage reimbursement credit"— was referred to the Investigations and Government Operations committee on April 3. There is no same-as bill in the Assembly.

The ink has barely dried on the state budget, but there is already a bill to repeal a tax break included in the final agreement. The tax cut was part of the minimum wage deal, and it would give a tax credit to any business that hires workers between the ages of 16 and 19. Senator Jose Peralta argues that means business will be discouraged from hiring older workers, who the Fiscal Policy Institute says currently hold about 90 percent of low-wage jobs.

ALBANY — A Queens state Senator has introduced a bill to repeal a controversial tax credit given to businesses that employ teenage minimum-wage workers.

Sen. Jose Peralta, a Democrat, said the credit encourages businesses, including national chains like Walmart, to shed older workers. He believes it also discourages employers from raising wages above the state minimum. “This tax credit is a really bad idea,” Peralta told the Daily News. “It just sends the wrong message.”

After years of unsuccessful attempts to get a crossing guard at the intersection of Horace Harding Expressway and Junction Boulevard, community members are asking for speed cameras, state Sen. Jose Peralta (D-East Elmhurst) said this week.

We hear a lot about the “shrinking middle class” in America. The Pew Research Center set out to measure the erosion. It found that, since 2000, “the middle class has shrunk in size” and “fallen backward in income and wealth.”

The percentage of American adults in the Pew study’s middle-income bracket has fallen from 61 percent in 1971 to 51 percent today.

The push for a crossing guard at Horace Harding Expressway and Junction Boulevard seems stalled in all directions, but those involved hope a recent push by Sen. Jose Peralta (D-Jackson Heights) will cause some action.

Several years ago a crossing guard manned the corner three blocks from PS 206, an elementary school at 61-02 98 St. where Rego Park and East Elmhurst meet, but she retired.

“We seem determined to shrink our middle class, grow the ranks of the impoverished and widen the gap between the richest and poorest. It’s the only way to explain the minimum wage debacle that’s playing out and why immigrants who want to go to college, work and pay taxes are treated like social outcasts.”

State Sen. Jose Peralta credits Gov. Cuomo with leading the charge in getting gay marriage and gun control legislation passed. Now Peralta wants Cuomo to again show the federal government how it's done when it comes to implementing a state DREAM Act that provides state tuition assistance to the kids of illegal immigrants who graduated high school in New York.

“It took great courage and leadership to achieve marriage equality in New York and to pass the toughest gun laws in the country," Peralta (D-Queens) said in a statement released this morning. "Rather than wait on the federal government to do something, Gov. Cuomo instead showed the federal government how to get big, important, meaningful things done."

“On behalf of all Dreamers, I am urging Gov. Cuomo to again bring to bear his great courage, considerable political skills and extraordinary leadership abilities in getting something big, important and meaningful done. And make no mistake: Immigration reform is important and most certainly needs to get done."

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has been pushing for $25 million to be included in the emerging state budget to create a state DREAM Act, but has found little support from the Senate GOP. Senate co-leader Jeffrey Klein (D-Bronx) has called for a DREAM Act that would be funded with a special casino fee--should casino gambling be legalized. But Klein, according to Assembly insiders, has not been pushing for the DREAM Act to be included in the upcoming budget.

Cuomo, meanwhile, has said he supports a federal DREAM Act but has not taken a stance on a state version.

Peralta, who is running for Queens borough president, called it a "sound investment in our state's workforce and future that would eventually pay for itself many times over."

"The DREAM Act belongs in the budget," he said. "The DREAM Act means far too much to far too many people to continue to be ignored."

“It took great courage and leadership to achieve marriage equality in New York and to pass the toughest gun laws in the country. Rather than wait on the federal government to do something, Governor Cuomo instead showed the federal government how to get big, important, meaningful things done.

“On behalf of all Dreamers, I am urging Governor Cuomo to again bring to bear his great courage, considerable political skills and extraordinary leadership abilities in getting something big, important and meaningful done. And make no mistake: Immigration reform is important and most certainly needs to get done.

“As a sound investment in our state’s workforce and future that would eventually pay for itself many times over, the Dream Act belongs in the budget.

“The Dream Act means far too much to far too many people to continue to be ignored.”

State Senator Jose Peralta is urging the city’s Department of Transportation to ensure the safety of children who must cross a dangerous Queens intersection to get to and from school without the help of a crossing guard.

“I am writing to urge you to take a close look at the intersection of Junction Blvd. and Horace Harding Expressway in Queens with an eye toward improving pedestrian safety, particularly that of the children of nearby P.S. 206,” wrote Senator Peralta in a letter to Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan, whom he is calling upon after learning that neither of the local precincts is assigning a crossing to the intersection.

“This is a very dangerous intersection for students and it is imperative that we have proper supervision at this corner,” wrote P.S. 206 Principal Joan Thomas last summer in requesting the reinstatement of a school crossing guard at the location. “As the principal of P.S. 206, I am very concerned about the safety of my children.”

"We applaud Senator Peralta for his leadership on street safety. Every neighborhood needs safe streets to thrive—that’s why Junction Boulevard and Horace Harding Expressway in Queens need to be made safe for local children, families, and seniors," said Paul Steely White, Executive Director of Transportation Alternatives.

In the letter to the transportation department, Senator Peralta recommends that the intersection be among the locations at which the proposed speed camera program is piloted. He also asks the commissioner to do whatever else she thinks is needed to protect the children of P.S. 206, many of whom navigate the intersection to get to and from Lefrak City, where they live, and school.

“There is no substitute for the direct, hands-on traffic control and help that a crossing guard can provide to children,” said Senator Peralta. “In the absence of a crossing guard, however, any measures you deem necessary and can launch promptly to ensure the safety of the P.S. 206 children will be most welcome.”

Queens State Senator Jose Peralta has been a sponsor of the New York Dream Act for the last two years. The legislation would expand the state's TAP (Tuition Assistance Program) to include undocumented students who qualify. The Assembly allocated $25 million in their one house budget, but it was not included in the Senate's version.

Peralta sat down with us to talk about why the Dream Act should be in the final budget and in his disappointment with Jeff Klein, the leader of the Independent Democrats who run the chamber with the GOP, who opted not to include the legislation in the 2013-14 fiscal plan.

“I urge the United States Senate to swiftly confirm Thomas Perez as the next Secretary of Labor. Mr. Perez is a stalwart champion of worker and immigrant rights who has the skill and experience to be an excellent Secretary of Labor. Confirming Mr. Perez would be historic, as he would be the first Dominican-American to ascend to a cabinet-level position.”

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